How to Beat It – The Gladestalkers Are Coming

Welcome all, please join me around the fire for some stories of yesteryear, a time when elven arrows filled the sky, archers hit on 3+ with an item, or had piercing, and when bane chant granted piercing to shooting.  It was a glorious time for the pointy-ears, filled with the lamentation of the lesser races.

In those halcyon days of yore, every KoW general had to come to the table with a plan to beat massed efficient shooting.  Defense 5, 15/17 units went up like dried tinder, and even trash lists feared having to pull hordes off round 1.

Why do I bring this up?  As you are probably aware, the latest Clash update includes updates to Gladestalkers in all 3 elven armies (and in the Northern Alliance – don’t sleep on the Ice-Kin).  While we aren’t going back to the days where one unit would drop 20, elite 4+, piercing ranged attacks on you, the Dash 28 staff have begun an all too familiar lament about Gladestalker pseudo-spam ruining their fun

[Ok fine – they weren’t whinging that much…at least until the top three armies at Dead of Winter featured about a thousand Gladestalker regiments].

As I happen to play one of the armies with access to the new Gladestalkers with regularity, and happen to have played with multiple Gladestalker regiments recently, I’ve been tasked (or coerced) into spilling the beans, dishing the tea, sinking the ships, for all the dirty pointy-eared bastards out there. 

[And don’t forget that other lists can essentially do the same thing with the 18” piercing one regiments – similar tactics as those discussed below apply to the FoN, Abyssal, Brotherhood of the Lady armies that bring an inordinate amount of Heartpiercers and Flamebearers]

The List Archetype

What are we talking about exactly?  While each amy with access to the new Gladestalkers has different flavors, and each each Gladestalker version has slightly different rules, the “problem” list looks something like this:

• Lots to excessive amounts of shooting: 3-5 Gladestalker regiments, maybe some other shooting regiments like standard Archers, Sea Guard, Pack Hunters, etc.
• Some hammers for deterrence/mop up: Think Drakons, Dragons, Tree Herders, Frostfang Cavalry, Abyssal Riders – all four armies have flavor. 
• Flavoring: Think Archmages, Mindscreeches, Silverbreeze, Noble Chariots – some other sources of shooting or damage output that just makes your day worse while you are chasing down Gladestalkers.

The Strategies

Before we jump into the strategies – please remember that this is all abstract.  Mission, matchup, and even dice all affect every game, so even if you follow each of these recommendations to the letter, a couple of rounds of elite shooting scoring 75% hits on units in cover or some early spiked nerves from shooting will still wreck your day.  Don’t come at me (bro) if this doesn’t work for you.

• Plan to Go Second

This is generally good advice in a game where going first has so many advantages, but against a shooting army that can scout and has lots of steady aim, you need to plan for taking damage turn 1.  

This means hiding chaff, using cover aggressively even if you know it will slow you down later, and giving up some strategic advantage if you go first.  If you do roll for first, that’s gravy, but you don’t want to be in an exposed position if your opponent wins that roll.

• Counter-Shooting

 Going full tilt into one play style is rarely recommended (trash, alpha, etc.).  To play against a hybrid elf list, some non-trivial amount of shooting can be very effective.  Gladestalkers do not like to get shot.  They will probably be in cover, but even then, a reasonable amount of shooting (magical or otherwise) can waiver/kill them quickly.

In addition, if you are facing stealthy Gladestalkers (either natively or through a spell), you can shoot at the hammer units and force them to move.  If the deterrent hammers can position all game without being threatened while you are taking fire from Gladestalkers, it will be a long day for you.  

But – I will note you need to commit.  Either shoot off Gladestalkers or shoot at the hammers – spreading shots is folly because you will lose that game.  If you can focus your shooting on a smaller of your elven foe while avoiding taking all of the counterfire, you can limit the damage you take from shooting with targeted counterfire.

• Play the Mission

This should be obvious – but I will say it anyway.  Elves in this archetype need to pick apart the enemy before engaging.  That means minimizing early shooting damage is essential – where you can minimize that damage and play the mission, do it.  Are you playing dominate with some terrain outside of the circle you can hide behind or in – do it.  Then jump into the circle late.  Are you playing control?  Can you place some US at the back board edge out of range of shooting?  Do it.  

Bottom line – don’t let early damage from shooting take you off your mission game plan.  Elves play kill – don’t play it back.

• Stealthy/Spellward

Duh.  If your army has access to these rules, think about playing them.  The value of both these special rules will be greater now with the proliferation of Gladestalkers.

One caveat – this doesn’t mean play Nighstalkers.  For years people have said Nightstalkers are the answer to efficient shooting.  The problem is twofold: 1) Most Nightstalker units have lesser defense, so sure the elves hit you fewer times, but the average wounds are very similar, and 2) early nerve spikes from shooting are devastating with no inspiring.  Nightstalkers are not the answer.

• Cover/Terrain

This is also obvious – but again, I will say it again.  Use cover as best you can – ideally with as much pathfinder as you can bring.  Most elf players will take two turns shooting you at 5+ over one turn shooting you at 4+ – so if you can move quickly through terrain that can be dangerous.  

Also – don’t just use terrain for cover – use it to block line of sight.  This may be obvious as well – but bears repeating.  You can choose what units get shot if you play cover right.

• Lots of Nerve

Having tons of nerve on the board is a potential answer – but remember that even a 21/23 horde of defense 4 will die in two turns – and if your nerve blocks are speed 5 – they may get shot a lot.

The way to mitigate this problem is to have faster elements that the elves have to shoot early.  If you don’t let your elven opponent shoot at the nerve blocks until late, then they won’t have time to kill off the extra unit strength.

• High Defense and Heal

This list archetype is spending a ton of money on shooting – so make them waste it.  Covered shots against defense 5 or 6 with significant heal just wastes non-piercing shots.  Every turn you can keep a unit alive, is a turn it has to be shot again – and these elite lists are on the clock. Make them waste time shooting high defense units, in cover, with heal backup (and maybe even stealthy if want to be a real jerk).

If you lean into Defense 6, most of these archetypes will heavily outmaneuver you, but that’s probably something you are used to.  Defense 5, with some speed and heal, can be a sweet spot of pain.

• Speed

Gladestalkers are better in close combat than they used to be, but they will not win a grind.  Having a battle line that is speed 7-10 can limit the rounds of shooting you will take.  Obviously most of these archetypes will have deterrent units – so don’t just rush in like an idiot – but don’t let the elf player back up for another round of clean shooting.  It’s a hard tactic to master, but alpha lists can cause the elven archetype problems (they can also get wiped off the board after if you are not careful).

• Enjoy the Elf-On-Elf Carnage

The single best counter to Gladestalkers is Gladestalkers.  If you don’t play this archetype, with its proliferation, there will be significant elf-on-elf violence going forward.  This may allow you to dodge the archetype at your next GT – which means you can ignore me.  The fratricide will also either drive elves to shoot more to win the shootout, or shoot less to survive it.  My money is on shoot more – but that means these hybrid lists will have fewer deterrents.  Timing the response of elf players to the intra-elf meta may help you design a list that brings the most effective elements discussed above to handle the hybrid elf list that is winning the intra-elf matchups.  But – if you can do that already – you are a meta-analyzing god, and likely don’t need my advice anyway.

Conclusion

After reading this you have all the tools to take on all the Gladestalkers ever…or not…maybe I am just misleading you so I can conquer!!